Friends, family, faculty mark UNH Homecoming

Sunday

Oct 14, 2012 at 3:15 AM

By ABBY KESSLERSpecial to the Democrat

DURHAM — Masses of students, faculty and alumni flocked to the field adjacent to Cowell Stadium on Saturday morning, firing up grills, blaring music and socializing with friends before the noon kickoff as part of the UNH homecoming celebration. Christine Kfoury, a UNH 1985 alumnus, travels from Manchester every year to take part in her alma mater’s homecoming. “I come back to spend time with friends and family,” Kfoury said. Although she watches the football game that follows tailgating she said her favorite part about returning to campus was reconnecting with old friends. “This is the largest alumni event that we host,” Megan Hales, student engagement and young alumni programs, said. Though the alumni association is unsure of how many alumni return to campus for homecoming weekend, she noted that last year more than 700 graduates returned to campus. “There is a huge social piece to Homecoming, through tailgating and the sporting events, but this is also a way to connect students, faculty and alumni with one another,” Steve Donovan, university advancement, said. One of the main ways students were able to connect with alumni during Homecoming was through informative booths set up at the tailgating field. Current students from computer science and engineering departments presented real-world applications of their studies. Jihyon Iim and Bodhi Piedmont-Feischmann, both engineering majors, were among the students presenting their senior project during homecoming. The two, along with three other students, are working on a clean water drinking system for an elementary school in the Dominican Republic. The engineering students have designed a system that will improve drinking water conditions for 1,2000 children at the school. “The students get water from juice boxes and small pouches, they just don’t have enough drinking water,” Piedmont-Feischmann said. Both students were hoping to spread word about their project during the event in order to raise $20,000 in funds that is needed to implement the clean-water system. “Homecoming is a real meaningful way for students and alumni to connect,” Donovan said in reference to the students working to promote their schoolwork. Although students were hard at work promoting their projects, many also kicked back and socialized around smoking grills.“I love the atmosphere, it gives you a great sense of community,” Cherelle Flynn, a senior at UNH, said. Flynn spent the morning grilling, handing out burgers and hot dogs to a group of friends that surrounded a long plastic table. She was one of hundreds that brought small portable grills to the lot and set up temporary grilling stations before the game. A UNH alumnus, Jakob Bastian, said that tailgating was a great time to come back to campus and visit old friends and feel like he is part of the college scene again. The Wildcats football team kicked off at noon facing the Richmond Spiders and drawing in thousands of pumped-up fans into the stadium. UNH beat Richmond 44-40, sending a wave of excitement through the home crowd.